Philip George to head Westival

The organisers of Westival have announced their headline act for the inaugural event, set to take place on 11 June, as Philip George.

George, who shot to fame with his 2014 hit single ‘Wish You Were Mine’, will lead the evening music event, with assistance from Ministry of Sound-backed supporting acts.
The festival is set to take place across three stages and is split up into day and night events. The daytime event has been organised in conjunction with YUSU RAG and will see music from a variety of University bands along with food and drink being served.

The evening will see an outdoor stage and the Roger Kirk Centre transformed into a musical haven, with tickets for this part of the event starting at £13.75. Nouse have learned that organisers are expecting a packed crowd for this part of the event, with 1200 tickets ready for release.

Speaking to Nouse about the event, Halifax chair Adam Walton stated that he is “excited to see the hard work that’s been put into the event pay off” and that the organisers “are looking forward to raising a good amount of money for the colleges’ respective charities”.
Walton went on to state how the event was not about competing with Derwent’s Big D, which also saw tickets go on sale, with presale tickets costing £18, but rather about “giving the students of Halifax, Vanbrugh, Alcuin and James their own opportunity to have some fun and relax at the end of the year”.

Walton’s hopes seem to have gone down well, with two Halifax first years informing Nouse that they were “looking forward to a good event for Halifax”; they went on to praise the HCSA for “not being afraid to work with other colleges”, further adding that the collective effort was a “good thing for a good cause”.

Ministry of Sound, who have worked alongside the colleges in organising the event, released a statement saying, “We are absolutely buzzing to announce that Ministry of Sound will be co-hosting this year’s University of York: Westival event!! We’re bringing Ministry DJs, loads of giveaways…let’s see what you’re made of York.”

Speaking to organisers about future plans for the event Nouse have learned that they are hopeful that it will go on to become an annual event which will in part bring in some money for colleges to act more autonomously and secure funding for college activities, such as sport. At the same time they stressed that the charity aspect of the event will remain in the future.

Organisers told Nouse that non-University friends were more than welcome to come along and that the event is not exclusive to Halifax, Vanbrugh, Alcuin and James members.